Bomb near Acropolis shakes central Athens

Police officers search for evidence near the home of a prominent Greek ship owner after a makeshift bomb exploded in central Athens on Wednesday.

By Kari Huus, Staff writer, NBC News

Police in Athens cleared people from an area close to the Acropolis on Wednesday, before a bomb apparently targeting the nearby home of a Greek ship owner exploded, reports said.

There were no reported injuries from the blast at the entryway of a home owned by the Tsakos family, which operates one of the country’s large shipping companies, nor was there any reported damage to the historical site.

A police source said an anonymous caller alerted a Greek daily newspaper that a bomb outside the Tsakos home would go off at 8:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. ET), AFP reported.

The bomb was in a black backpack left at the home’s entrance, located just a few hundred yards from the south side of the Acropolis, one of Greece’s most popular tourist destinations.

By the time the blast occurred — around the time predicted by the caller — police had evacuated one or two people from the building and sealed off the area, according to The Associated Press, citing police spokesman Panagiotis Papapetropoulos.

"Judging by the minor extent of the damage, it can't have been a very strong explosive device," Papapetropoulos said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing.

In the past three years, amid a deep financial crisis and painful austerity measures, Greek anarchist groups have carried out a string of attacks against police and symbols of institutional authority and wealth in the country.